Abstract: The quality of fire and disaster prevention is an important aspect within buildings and architectural structures because it directly affects the life, property, and safety of residents. By combining building fire control and prevention equipment, information and communication technologies, and intelligent building concepts, more secure, comfortable, and convenient residential environments can be provided. For this study, ER Studio, SQL, and Visual Studio were used as tools to create a Web-base “fire-control surveillance, and management system.” Fire control equipment was integrated into the building using the building information model (BIM). When a fire detector was triggered, a surveillance monitor could determine whether the warning was accurate and immediately identify information regarding the personnel relevant to the area on fire. Fire-fighters could then determine the fire conditions, as well as the location and types of relevant fire-extinguishing tools through the network. Additionally, they can conduct fire control and rescue operations rapidly and effectively to protect the lives and property of residents.

Taiwan is spatially limited, with the population primarily located in metropolitan areas. Tall buildings are increasingly constructed to increase living spaces and land usage. However, should a fire occur in these densely populated and large-scale buildings? It can result in significant losses of life and property. According to national fire statistics (from 2003 to June 10, 2012) provided by the National Fire Agency (Ministry of the Interior) [1], an average of approximately 4,803 fire incidents occur annually in Taiwan, with an approximate total of 4,310 deaths and/or injuries. The average annual direct property losses amount to approximately 1.7 billion NTD (new Taiwan dollar). These data show the severity of fire damage. Therefore, enhancing fire prevention methods and implementing rescue and escape operations during a fire is essential to reduce fire damage.

In the modern era, where information technology is rapidly developed, the combination of computer technology and fire and disaster prevention facilities and equipment is becoming a trend. Currently, the use of fire control equipment alone is gradually ceasing. This equipment is being replaced by highly integrated and multifunctional fire control safety equipment. Strategies for fire control have also progressed from passive prevention to the prompt detection of potential risk factors s and establishment of disaster reduction measures [2].

1.2 Research objectives and motivations

A wide variety of specific decision support systems have been and can be built using Web environment [3]. Fire incidents cause significant losses of life and property; thus, prevention measures and rapid response strategies for disasters are extremely important. In this era of advancing information and communication technologies, fire control equipment with varying functions should be integrated in a single platform for management personnel to accurately determine the disaster conditions and effectively increase the efficiency of rescue operations. The building information model (BIM) has recently become a popular research topic among domestic and international scholars. In the past, rescue measures were confined to 2D models; however, by integrating a BIM environment and relevant fire control equipment, 3D fire prevention and monitoring systems can be established. Ultimately, the 3D models developed can provide more detailed building fire control information and effectively increase the efficiency of disaster prevention. The objectives of this study were as follows:

To assess the recent effectiveness of the BIM model for construction engineering using a literature review.

To incorporate various building components and relevant fire control equipment into a model using BIM.

To analyze the system functions required for building fire control and surveillance systems and create a fire-control surveillance and management system using a Windows environment.

To examine and input actual cases to verify and adjust the system functions.

Roadmap validation approach and results are discussed in Section 5. The contribution of the collaborative networks discipline for the provision of integrated care services is discussed in Section 6. Implementation aspects and conclusions complement the paper.

REFERENCES

Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior, National Statistic Data Table of the Number of Fire Accident, the Origin and Cause of Fires and the Loss Due to Fire Accident.